The founders of Tesla and SolarCity are creating the beginnings of a sustainable future.

Solar powering our homes and offices. Solar powering our electric cars. Now, the same high-capacity batteries can reduce peak demand charges, usually the most expensive part of a commercial bill.

While the battery costs are still relatively high, in addition to reasonable paybacks from reducing peak demands charges, the back-up power keeps critical facilities operating during utility outages (an increasingly common event due to disrupted weather patterns). How important is keeping the power on during crises? Literally, “priceless” for hospitals, emergency shelters, gas stations, and more…

And, like all technology – the more people who start to use it, the faster the costs will come down, leading to a “viral cycle” of decreasing costs, increasing demand, growing supply, then decreasing costs again… and again…